US20150202895A1 - Printer apparatus - Google Patents
Printer apparatus Download PDFInfo
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- US20150202895A1 US20150202895A1 US14/159,621 US201414159621A US2015202895A1 US 20150202895 A1 US20150202895 A1 US 20150202895A1 US 201414159621 A US201414159621 A US 201414159621A US 2015202895 A1 US2015202895 A1 US 2015202895A1
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- paper
- cover
- housing
- rotary gear
- printer
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- 230000001678 irradiating effect Effects 0.000 claims 1
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 description 22
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 7
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 5
- 238000004804 winding Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000007599 discharging Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000006870 function Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000011144 upstream manufacturing Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000012790 confirmation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000004973 liquid crystal related substance Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000006467 substitution reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J11/00—Devices or arrangements of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in sheet or web form
- B41J11/006—Means for preventing paper jams or for facilitating their removal
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J11/00—Devices or arrangements of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in sheet or web form
- B41J11/007—Conveyor belts or like feeding devices
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J15/00—Devices or arrangements of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, specially adapted for supporting or handling copy material in continuous form, e.g. webs
- B41J15/04—Supporting, feeding, or guiding devices; Mountings for web rolls or spindles
- B41J15/042—Supporting, feeding, or guiding devices; Mountings for web rolls or spindles for loading rolled-up continuous copy material into printers, e.g. for replacing a used-up paper roll; Point-of-sale printers with openable casings allowing access to the rolled-up continuous copy material
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/315—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by selective application of heat to a heat sensitive printing or impression-transfer material
- B41J2/32—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by selective application of heat to a heat sensitive printing or impression-transfer material using thermal heads
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/315—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by selective application of heat to a heat sensitive printing or impression-transfer material
- B41J2/32—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by selective application of heat to a heat sensitive printing or impression-transfer material using thermal heads
- B41J2/325—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by selective application of heat to a heat sensitive printing or impression-transfer material using thermal heads by selective transfer of ink from ink carrier, e.g. from ink ribbon or sheet
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J11/00—Devices or arrangements of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in sheet or web form
- B41J11/02—Platens
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J11/00—Devices or arrangements of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in sheet or web form
- B41J11/02—Platens
- B41J11/04—Roller platens
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J11/00—Devices or arrangements of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in sheet or web form
- B41J11/36—Blanking or long feeds; Feeding to a particular line, e.g. by rotation of platen or feed roller
- B41J11/42—Controlling printing material conveyance for accurate alignment of the printing material with the printhead; Print registering
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J11/00—Devices or arrangements of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in sheet or web form
- B41J11/36—Blanking or long feeds; Feeding to a particular line, e.g. by rotation of platen or feed roller
- B41J11/42—Controlling printing material conveyance for accurate alignment of the printing material with the printhead; Print registering
- B41J11/44—Controlling printing material conveyance for accurate alignment of the printing material with the printhead; Print registering by devices, e.g. programme tape or contact wheel, moved in correspondence with movement of paper-feeding devices, e.g. platen rotation
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2202/00—Embodiments of or processes related to ink-jet or thermal heads
- B41J2202/30—Embodiments of or processes related to thermal heads
- B41J2202/31—Thermal printer with head or platen movable
Definitions
- Embodiments described herein relate to a printer apparatus which prints on paper and issues the paper.
- a printer apparatus which carries out a given printing operation on paper and issues the paper is provided with various sensors for detecting various errors.
- Most of the sensors for detecting various errors are used to detect only one kind of errors, for example, a cover-open sensor merely confirms whether or not the cover of the printer apparatus is closed correctly, and a jam sensor merely confirms whether or not paper jam occurs.
- a cover-open sensor merely confirms whether or not the cover of the printer apparatus is closed correctly
- a jam sensor merely confirms whether or not paper jam occurs.
- it is considered to use one sensor to realize various detections including the detection on the error opening of a cover and the detection on the double-feeding of paper.
- the detection on paper jam can be carried out by confirming the signal.
- the detection on the paper jam can be realized by using the paper on the back side of which a black mark for detecting the conveyance of paper is arranged, however, in this detection, it is needed to use dedicated paper and sensors, and it is incapable of detecting other errors while detecting paper jam.
- FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a main portion constitution of a printer apparatus according to the present embodiment
- FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a main portion constitution of a printer apparatus when an opening and closing cover of the printer apparatus is opened according to the present embodiment
- FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a constitution of a control circuit of a printer apparatus according to the present embodiment
- FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an error detection method for the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment
- FIG. 5(A) is a diagram illustrating the relation between a rotary gear and a drive gear for driving the rotary gear in the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment
- FIG. 5(B) is a diagram illustrating the relation between a platen gear and sensor block in the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment.
- FIG. 6 illustrates a main portion constitution of a sensor section for detecting the rotation of a rotary gear in the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment.
- a printer apparatus comprises a housing of a main body of the apparatus, a cover which can be opened and closed relative to the housing, a paper conveyance path configured to convey paper, a rotary component configured to be arranged along the paper conveyance path to convey paper through the friction with paper, a rotary gear configured to be arranged in the rotary component, a sensor section configured to detect the rotation of the rotary gear, and a drive section configured to be connected with the rotary component to supply a drive force for the rotary component, wherein the rotary gear is arranged at either side of the housing and the cover, the drive section, which is arranged at the other side of the housing and the cover where no rotary gear is arranged, is connected with the rotary gear and supplies a drive force for the rotary gear when the cover is closed.
- FIG. 1 is a constitution diagram illustrating main portions of a printer apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. Further, in the printer, as paper is conveyed from the right side of FIG. 1 to the left side of FIG. 1 , the right side of FIG. 1 is referred to as an upstream side and the left side of FIG. 1 is referred to as a downstream side in the following description.
- a printer upper cover 2 is mounted by taking a support shaft 3 as a rotation center in an openable/closable manner.
- FIG. 1 illustrates a state in which the printer upper cover 2 is closed
- FIG. 2 illustrates a state in which the printer upper cover 2 of the printer apparatus 1 is opened.
- Roll shape paper 5 is rolled on a winding shaft 7 with the paper surface A 6 facing the inside, and the winding shaft 7 is supported to be rotational in the printer apparatus 1 .
- the rolled paper 5 is clamped and conveyed towards the downstream side by a feed roller 8 which is positioned at the downstream side of the conveyance direction of the paper 5 and an idle roller 10 which is arranged opposite to the feed roller 8 across a paper conveyance path 9 . Further, a plurality of pairs of feed rollers 8 and idle rollers 10 are arranged along the paper conveyance path 9 .
- a platen roller 11 is arranged at the downstream side of the feed roller 8 , and a thermal print head 12 is arranged opposite to the platen roller 11 across the paper conveyance path 9 .
- the platen roller 11 and the thermal print head 12 constitute a printing mechanism 13 which prints on the paper surface A 6 of the paper 5 .
- a cutter 14 is arranged at the downstream side of the printing mechanism 13 .
- the cutter 14 has a fixed blade 15 and a movable blade 16 which slides towards the fixed blade 15 under the drive of a motor (not shown) to cut the paper 5 inserted in the slit (not shown) of the cutter 14 .
- the cutter 14 is described as the called sliding type cutter which has a movable blade sliding towards a fixed blade, however, the present invention is not limited to this, the cutter 14 may also be the so-called rotary cutter which cuts a paper by rotationally contacting a movable blade with a fixed blade.
- a paper discharge port 17 is arranged at the downstream side of the cutter 14 to discharge the paper 5 which is subjected to a given printing operation and then cut by the cutter 14 from the printer apparatus 1 to the outside. Further, a discharge table 18 is arranged below the paper discharge port 17 in the printer lower cover 4 to keep the cut paper 5 .
- a display section 19 is arranged on the printer upper cover 4 of the printer apparatus 1 .
- the display section 19 which is a liquid crystal display such as an LCD, has a function of displaying an error such as ‘paper 5 is jammed’ or ‘out of paper’ and displaying the state of the printer apparatus 1 .
- FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a constitution of a control circuit of the printer apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.
- a control section 60 controls the paper conveyance, printing, paper cutting, the detection on jam of paper or opening of a cover, paper discharging, and the display of the condition of the printer.
- the control section 60 is configured by, for example, a microcomputer which associates with a host computer 100 and carries out various controls.
- a micro processor unit (MPU) 61 of the control section 60 carries out various controls and operations such as a paper conveyance control, a printing control, a paper cutting control, the detection on jam of paper or opening of a cover and paper discharging control according to programs.
- MPU micro processor unit
- a ROM 62 and a RAM 63 are arranged in the control section 60 as primary storage units for storing control programs executed by the MPU 61 and data generated during a control process or an operation process.
- the ROM 62 is a read-only memory in which control programs and tables are stored
- the RAM 63 is a random access memory for storing the data generated during an operation process.
- an input/output unit (I/O) 64 is arranged in the control section 60 to acquire various input data from the host computer 100 and extract a control output from the control section 60 to the host computer 100 .
- the I/O 64 is connected with the MPU 61 , the ROM 62 and the RAM 63 via a bus line.
- the I/O 64 is connected with a first, a second, a third, a fourth and a fifth driver 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 and 69 serving as units for extracting a control output.
- the first driver 65 supplies a required drive output for the printing mechanism 13 .
- the second driver 66 supplies a required drive output for the feed roller 8 .
- the third driver 67 supplies a drive output for an open jam sensor 20 which will be described later.
- the fourth driver 68 supplies a drive output for the cutter 14 .
- the fifth driver 69 supplies a display drive output for the display section 19 to enable the display section 19 to execute various displays.
- the platen roller 11 is rotationally driven by a motor in synchronization with the printing operation based on the control output of a printing instruction unit of the MPU 61 .
- the thermal print heat 12 generates heat and prints on the paper surface A 6 of the paper 5 based on the printing data from the host computer 100 .
- the MPU 61 of the control section 60 rotates the feed roller 8 and stops the rotation of feed roller 8 with the driver 66 .
- the MPU 61 of the control section 60 drives the open jam sensor 20 with the driver 67 and receives a detection signal.
- the MPU 61 of the control section 60 drives, with the driver 68 , the cutter 14 to cut the paper 5 .
- the MPU 61 of the control section 60 displays various information and errors of the printer apparatus 1 on the display section 19 under the drive of the driver 69 .
- the control section 60 carries out paper conveyance and printing operations according to a program stored in the ROM 62 .
- the operator first rotates the printer upper cover 2 of the printer apparatus 1 by taking the support shaft 3 as the center to open the printer upper cover 2 of the printer apparatus 1 and then loads the roll shape paper 5 rolled on the winding shaft 7 into the printer apparatus 1 .
- the operator pulls out the paper 5 , places the front end of the paper 5 between the feed roller 8 and the idle roller 10 located at the most upstream side in the plurality of feed rollers 8 and idle rollers 10 , and then closes the printer upper cover 2 .
- the control section 60 confirms whether or not the cover of the printer apparatus 1 is opened (ACT S 2 ).
- the method for confirming whether or not the cover is opened is described with reference to FIG. 2 , FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 .
- the platen roller 11 and the feed roller 8 move upwards together with the printer upper cover 2 . Further, the thermal print head 12 and the idle roller 10 , which are respectively arranged opposite to the platen roller 11 and the feed roller 8 across the paper conveyance path 9 , are still at the side of the printer lower cover 4 serving as the housing of the main body of the apparatus.
- a platen gear 22 is arranged at an end of the platen roller 11 , and a passing hole 23 is arranged in the platen gear 22 , as shown in FIG. 5 ( b ).
- a drive gear 21 which meshes with the platen gear 22 to impart drive force is arranged at the side of the printer lower cover 4 serving as the housing of the main body of the apparatus. That is, the platen gear 22 meshes with the drive gear 21 when the printer upper cover 2 is closed, and then the platen roller 11 is rotated.
- a sensor block 24 substantially in a concave shape is arranged at the side of the printer lower cover 4 serving as the housing of the main body of the apparatus to clamp the platen gear 22 in a thickness direction.
- a light emitting section 25 and a light receiving section 26 are respectively arranged in opposite internal surfaces of the sensor block 24 , and the light emitting section 25 , the light receiving section 26 , and the sensor block 24 constitute the open jam sensor 20 . That is, the platen gear 22 is located in the open jam sensor 20 when the printer upper cover 2 is closed.
- the light emitting section 25 continuously emits a detection light 27 to the light receiving section 26 .
- the platen gear 22 rotates, and if the position of the passing hole 23 is consistent with the detection position 28 shown in FIG. 5 ( b ), the detection light 27 passes through the passing hole 23 and reaches the light receiving section 26 , then a light receiving signal is sent. If the position of the passing hole 23 is not consistent with the detection position 28 , then no light receiving signal is sent as the detection light 27 does not reach the light receiving section 26 .
- ACT S 2 Whether or not the cover of the printer apparatus 1 is opened is confirmed (ACT S 2 ), when the cover is opened (YES in ACT S 2 ), an error is displayed on the display section 19 (ACT S 3 ) and the printer apparatus 1 is stopped (ACT S 4 ).
- ACT S 2 Whether or not the cover of the printer apparatus 1 is opened is confirmed (ACT S 2 ), when the cover is not opened (NO in ACT S 2 ), the printer apparatus 1 sequentially prints the printing data from the host computer 100 (ACT S 5 ).
- the control section 60 confirms, at a predetermined interval, whether or not paper jam occurs in the printer apparatus 1 during the printing process (ACT S 6 ).
- the confirmation on whether or not paper jam occurs is carried out by the open jam sensor 20 .
- the stationary rotation frequency of the platen roller 11 is determined in advance, thus a period in which the passing hole 23 is consistent with the detection position 28 , that is, a period in which the light receiving section 26 detects the detection light 27 and sends a light receiving signal is determined. Paper jam or other error in the conveyance of the paper 5 occurs when no signal is sent in each period. Thus, whether or not paper jam occurs can be confirmed by confirming whether or not the light receiving section 26 sends a light receiving signal in the period of stationary rotation.
- the control section 60 confirms whether or not all printing data is printed at a predetermined interval (ACT S 7 ). If all printing data is not printed (NO in ACT S 7 ), the control section 60 continues the printing until the printing job is completed (ACT S 5 ) and continues to confirm whether or not paper jam occurs (ACT S 6 ). The printing is ended (ACT S 8 ) if all printing data is printed (YES in ACT S 7 ).
- a sensor is arranged which imparts no drive force when the printer upper cover 2 is not closed, and the conveyance of paper is confirmed through the rotation of the sensor.
- the conventional sensors for detecting the opening of a cover and for detecting paper jam are integrated into one sensor. Further, in the detection of paper jam, when detecting rolled continuous paper, a black mark is arranged on the back side of the paper so that the jam of the continuous paper can be detected by detecting the mark.
- the used paper needs to be special paper on which a black mark is arranged in advance, which leads to an increase in paper cost.
- the conveyance state of paper is detected by detecting the rotation of a gear arranged at an end of a paper conveyance roller, therefore, cheaper paper can be used instead of the paper with black mark.
- the platen roller 11 and the platen gear 22 are arranged at the side of the rotary printer upper cover 2
- the open jam sensor 20 and the drive gear 21 are arranged at the side of the printer lower cover 4 serving as the housing of the main body of the apparatus. That is because, compared with the case where the drive gear 21 is arranged at the side of the printer lower cover 4 serving as the housing of the main body of the apparatus, a bigger drive section is needed to drive the drive gear 21 if the drive gear 21 is arranged at the side of the printer upper cover 2 .
- a bigger drive section is heavier, which requires a bigger rotation mechanism (not shown) such as a spring for opening/closing the printer upper cover 2 .
- a drive section including the drive gear 21 is arranged at the side of the printer lower cover 4 serving as the housing of the main body of the apparatus.
- the present invention is not limited to this, it may also be in a position relation in which the platen roller 11 is driven by closing the printer upper cover 2 , and meanwhile, the open jam sensors 20 for detecting the rotation of the platen gear 22 arranged at an end of the platen roller 11 can be driven.
- the open jam sensor 20 may be arranged at the side of the rotary printer upper cover 2 while the drive gear 21 is arranged at the side of the printer lower cover 4 serving as the housing of the main body of the apparatus.
- the drive gear 21 may be arranged at the side of the rotary printer upper cover 2 while the platen roller 11 and the open jam sensor 20 are arranged at the side of the printer lower cover 4 serving as the housing of the main body of the apparatus.
- the platen gear 22 having the passing hole 23 is arranged at an end of the platen roller 11 .
- the platen gear 22 is not necessarily arranged at an end of the platen roller 11 , but may also be arranged at an end of a component, such as the feed roller 8 or the idle roller 10 , which has a function of conveying paper through rotation when the paper is conveyed.
- only one passing hole 23 is arranged.
- the position relation between the passing hole 23 and the detection position 28 is unclear, thus, the rotation of one whole cycle is needed to detect whether or not the cover is opened.
- the rotation of one cycle takes a long time, and correspondingly, a long time is taken to determine whether or not the cover is opened.
Abstract
Description
- Embodiments described herein relate to a printer apparatus which prints on paper and issues the paper.
- A printer apparatus which carries out a given printing operation on paper and issues the paper is provided with various sensors for detecting various errors. Most of the sensors for detecting various errors are used to detect only one kind of errors, for example, a cover-open sensor merely confirms whether or not the cover of the printer apparatus is closed correctly, and a jam sensor merely confirms whether or not paper jam occurs. Thus, it is considered to use one sensor to realize various detections including the detection on the error opening of a cover and the detection on the double-feeding of paper.
- In paper jam detection, if a printer using cut paper and the like finishes the conveyance of the length of a paper, the receiving signal of a detection sensor is changed. Thus, the detection on paper jam can be carried out by confirming the signal. However, it is difficult to detect the jam of paper wound into a roll shape since the paper is continuous until it is cut. It is known that the detection on the paper jam can be realized by using the paper on the back side of which a black mark for detecting the conveyance of paper is arranged, however, in this detection, it is needed to use dedicated paper and sensors, and it is incapable of detecting other errors while detecting paper jam.
-
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a main portion constitution of a printer apparatus according to the present embodiment; -
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a main portion constitution of a printer apparatus when an opening and closing cover of the printer apparatus is opened according to the present embodiment; -
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a constitution of a control circuit of a printer apparatus according to the present embodiment; -
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an error detection method for the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment; -
FIG. 5(A) is a diagram illustrating the relation between a rotary gear and a drive gear for driving the rotary gear in the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment; -
FIG. 5(B) is a diagram illustrating the relation between a platen gear and sensor block in the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment; and -
FIG. 6 illustrates a main portion constitution of a sensor section for detecting the rotation of a rotary gear in the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment. - A printer apparatus comprises a housing of a main body of the apparatus, a cover which can be opened and closed relative to the housing, a paper conveyance path configured to convey paper, a rotary component configured to be arranged along the paper conveyance path to convey paper through the friction with paper, a rotary gear configured to be arranged in the rotary component, a sensor section configured to detect the rotation of the rotary gear, and a drive section configured to be connected with the rotary component to supply a drive force for the rotary component, wherein the rotary gear is arranged at either side of the housing and the cover, the drive section, which is arranged at the other side of the housing and the cover where no rotary gear is arranged, is connected with the rotary gear and supplies a drive force for the rotary gear when the cover is closed.
- The printer apparatus according to the present embodiment is described below in detail with reference to accompanying drawings.
-
FIG. 1 is a constitution diagram illustrating main portions of aprinter apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. Further, in the printer, as paper is conveyed from the right side ofFIG. 1 to the left side ofFIG. 1 , the right side ofFIG. 1 is referred to as an upstream side and the left side ofFIG. 1 is referred to as a downstream side in the following description. - In the
printer apparatus 1, relative to a printerlower cover 4 serving as a housing of a main body of the apparatus, a printerupper cover 2 is mounted by taking asupport shaft 3 as a rotation center in an openable/closable manner.FIG. 1 illustrates a state in which the printerupper cover 2 is closed, andFIG. 2 illustrates a state in which the printerupper cover 2 of theprinter apparatus 1 is opened. -
Roll shape paper 5 is rolled on awinding shaft 7 with the paper surface A6 facing the inside, and thewinding shaft 7 is supported to be rotational in theprinter apparatus 1. The rolledpaper 5 is clamped and conveyed towards the downstream side by afeed roller 8 which is positioned at the downstream side of the conveyance direction of thepaper 5 and anidle roller 10 which is arranged opposite to thefeed roller 8 across apaper conveyance path 9. Further, a plurality of pairs offeed rollers 8 andidle rollers 10 are arranged along thepaper conveyance path 9. - A
platen roller 11 is arranged at the downstream side of thefeed roller 8, and athermal print head 12 is arranged opposite to theplaten roller 11 across thepaper conveyance path 9. Theplaten roller 11 and thethermal print head 12 constitute aprinting mechanism 13 which prints on the paper surface A6 of thepaper 5. - A
cutter 14 is arranged at the downstream side of theprinting mechanism 13. Thecutter 14 has afixed blade 15 and amovable blade 16 which slides towards thefixed blade 15 under the drive of a motor (not shown) to cut thepaper 5 inserted in the slit (not shown) of thecutter 14. - Herein, the
cutter 14 is described as the called sliding type cutter which has a movable blade sliding towards a fixed blade, however, the present invention is not limited to this, thecutter 14 may also be the so-called rotary cutter which cuts a paper by rotationally contacting a movable blade with a fixed blade. - Further, a
paper discharge port 17 is arranged at the downstream side of thecutter 14 to discharge thepaper 5 which is subjected to a given printing operation and then cut by thecutter 14 from theprinter apparatus 1 to the outside. Further, a discharge table 18 is arranged below thepaper discharge port 17 in the printerlower cover 4 to keep thecut paper 5. - Further, a
display section 19 is arranged on the printerupper cover 4 of theprinter apparatus 1. Thedisplay section 19, which is a liquid crystal display such as an LCD, has a function of displaying an error such as ‘paper 5 is jammed’ or ‘out of paper’ and displaying the state of theprinter apparatus 1. -
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a constitution of a control circuit of theprinter apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. Acontrol section 60 controls the paper conveyance, printing, paper cutting, the detection on jam of paper or opening of a cover, paper discharging, and the display of the condition of the printer. - The
control section 60 is configured by, for example, a microcomputer which associates with ahost computer 100 and carries out various controls. A micro processor unit (MPU) 61 of thecontrol section 60 carries out various controls and operations such as a paper conveyance control, a printing control, a paper cutting control, the detection on jam of paper or opening of a cover and paper discharging control according to programs. - Further, a
ROM 62 and aRAM 63 are arranged in thecontrol section 60 as primary storage units for storing control programs executed by theMPU 61 and data generated during a control process or an operation process. - The
ROM 62 is a read-only memory in which control programs and tables are stored, and theRAM 63 is a random access memory for storing the data generated during an operation process. - Further, an input/output unit (I/O) 64 is arranged in the
control section 60 to acquire various input data from thehost computer 100 and extract a control output from thecontrol section 60 to thehost computer 100. The I/O 64 is connected with the MPU 61, theROM 62 and theRAM 63 via a bus line. - Further, the I/
O 64 is connected with a first, a second, a third, a fourth and afifth driver - The
first driver 65 supplies a required drive output for theprinting mechanism 13. Thesecond driver 66 supplies a required drive output for thefeed roller 8. Thethird driver 67 supplies a drive output for anopen jam sensor 20 which will be described later. Thefourth driver 68 supplies a drive output for thecutter 14. Thefifth driver 69 supplies a display drive output for thedisplay section 19 to enable thedisplay section 19 to execute various displays. - When the
paper 5 is printed by theprinting mechanism 13, theplaten roller 11 is rotationally driven by a motor in synchronization with the printing operation based on the control output of a printing instruction unit of theMPU 61. Thethermal print heat 12 generates heat and prints on the paper surface A6 of thepaper 5 based on the printing data from thehost computer 100. - The MPU 61 of the
control section 60 rotates thefeed roller 8 and stops the rotation offeed roller 8 with thedriver 66. - The MPU 61 of the
control section 60 drives theopen jam sensor 20 with thedriver 67 and receives a detection signal. - The MPU 61 of the
control section 60 drives, with thedriver 68, thecutter 14 to cut thepaper 5. - The
MPU 61 of thecontrol section 60 displays various information and errors of theprinter apparatus 1 on thedisplay section 19 under the drive of thedriver 69. - Next, the operations of the
printer apparatus 1 are described below with reference to the flowchart inFIG. 4 . Thecontrol section 60 carries out paper conveyance and printing operations according to a program stored in theROM 62. - The operator first rotates the printer
upper cover 2 of theprinter apparatus 1 by taking thesupport shaft 3 as the center to open the printerupper cover 2 of theprinter apparatus 1 and then loads theroll shape paper 5 rolled on thewinding shaft 7 into theprinter apparatus 1. Next, the operator pulls out thepaper 5, places the front end of thepaper 5 between thefeed roller 8 and theidle roller 10 located at the most upstream side in the plurality offeed rollers 8 andidle rollers 10, and then closes the printerupper cover 2. - In this state, if the printing data is received from the host computer 100 (ACT S1), the
control section 60 confirms whether or not the cover of theprinter apparatus 1 is opened (ACT S2). The method for confirming whether or not the cover is opened is described with reference toFIG. 2 ,FIG. 5 andFIG. 6 . - If the printer
upper cover 2 is opened, as shown inFIG. 2 , theplaten roller 11 and thefeed roller 8 move upwards together with the printerupper cover 2. Further, thethermal print head 12 and theidle roller 10, which are respectively arranged opposite to theplaten roller 11 and thefeed roller 8 across thepaper conveyance path 9, are still at the side of the printerlower cover 4 serving as the housing of the main body of the apparatus. - Further, as shown in
FIG. 5 (a), aplaten gear 22 is arranged at an end of theplaten roller 11, and a passinghole 23 is arranged in theplaten gear 22, as shown inFIG. 5 (b). Adrive gear 21 which meshes with theplaten gear 22 to impart drive force is arranged at the side of the printerlower cover 4 serving as the housing of the main body of the apparatus. That is, theplaten gear 22 meshes with thedrive gear 21 when the printerupper cover 2 is closed, and then theplaten roller 11 is rotated. - Further, a
sensor block 24 substantially in a concave shape is arranged at the side of the printerlower cover 4 serving as the housing of the main body of the apparatus to clamp theplaten gear 22 in a thickness direction. Alight emitting section 25 and alight receiving section 26 are respectively arranged in opposite internal surfaces of thesensor block 24, and thelight emitting section 25, thelight receiving section 26, and thesensor block 24 constitute theopen jam sensor 20. That is, theplaten gear 22 is located in theopen jam sensor 20 when the printerupper cover 2 is closed. - The
light emitting section 25 continuously emits adetection light 27 to thelight receiving section 26. Theplaten gear 22 rotates, and if the position of the passinghole 23 is consistent with thedetection position 28 shown inFIG. 5 (b), the detection light 27 passes through the passinghole 23 and reaches thelight receiving section 26, then a light receiving signal is sent. If the position of the passinghole 23 is not consistent with thedetection position 28, then no light receiving signal is sent as thedetection light 27 does not reach thelight receiving section 26. - That is, no light receiving signal is sent if the printer
upper cover 2 is not closed, thus, theplaten roller 11 is rotated first and whether or not the printerupper cover 2 is opened can be confirmed according to whether or not a light receiving signal is sent. - Whether or not the cover of the
printer apparatus 1 is opened is confirmed (ACT S2), when the cover is opened (YES in ACT S2), an error is displayed on the display section 19 (ACT S3) and theprinter apparatus 1 is stopped (ACT S4). - Whether or not the cover of the
printer apparatus 1 is opened is confirmed (ACT S2), when the cover is not opened (NO in ACT S2), theprinter apparatus 1 sequentially prints the printing data from the host computer 100 (ACT S5). - The
control section 60 confirms, at a predetermined interval, whether or not paper jam occurs in theprinter apparatus 1 during the printing process (ACT S6). The confirmation on whether or not paper jam occurs is carried out by theopen jam sensor 20. - The stationary rotation frequency of the
platen roller 11 is determined in advance, thus a period in which the passinghole 23 is consistent with thedetection position 28, that is, a period in which thelight receiving section 26 detects thedetection light 27 and sends a light receiving signal is determined. Paper jam or other error in the conveyance of thepaper 5 occurs when no signal is sent in each period. Thus, whether or not paper jam occurs can be confirmed by confirming whether or not thelight receiving section 26 sends a light receiving signal in the period of stationary rotation. - Whether or not paper jam occurs in the
printer apparatus 1 is confirmed (ACT S6), if paper jam occurs (YEA in ACT S6), an error is displayed on the display section 19 (ACT S3) to stop the printer apparatus 1 (ACT S4). - If no paper jam occurs (NO in ACT S6), the
control section 60 confirms whether or not all printing data is printed at a predetermined interval (ACT S7). If all printing data is not printed (NO in ACT S7), thecontrol section 60 continues the printing until the printing job is completed (ACT S5) and continues to confirm whether or not paper jam occurs (ACT S6). The printing is ended (ACT S8) if all printing data is printed (YES in ACT S7). - As stated above, a sensor is arranged which imparts no drive force when the printer
upper cover 2 is not closed, and the conveyance of paper is confirmed through the rotation of the sensor. - In this way, the conventional sensors for detecting the opening of a cover and for detecting paper jam are integrated into one sensor. Further, in the detection of paper jam, when detecting rolled continuous paper, a black mark is arranged on the back side of the paper so that the jam of the continuous paper can be detected by detecting the mark. However, the used paper needs to be special paper on which a black mark is arranged in advance, which leads to an increase in paper cost.
- However, in the present invention, the conveyance state of paper is detected by detecting the rotation of a gear arranged at an end of a paper conveyance roller, therefore, cheaper paper can be used instead of the paper with black mark.
- Further, in the present embodiment, the
platen roller 11 and theplaten gear 22 are arranged at the side of the rotary printerupper cover 2, theopen jam sensor 20 and thedrive gear 21 are arranged at the side of the printerlower cover 4 serving as the housing of the main body of the apparatus. That is because, compared with the case where thedrive gear 21 is arranged at the side of the printerlower cover 4 serving as the housing of the main body of the apparatus, a bigger drive section is needed to drive thedrive gear 21 if thedrive gear 21 is arranged at the side of the printerupper cover 2. A bigger drive section is heavier, which requires a bigger rotation mechanism (not shown) such as a spring for opening/closing the printerupper cover 2. Thus, it is preferred that a drive section including thedrive gear 21 is arranged at the side of the printerlower cover 4 serving as the housing of the main body of the apparatus. - However, the present invention is not limited to this, it may also be in a position relation in which the
platen roller 11 is driven by closing the printerupper cover 2, and meanwhile, theopen jam sensors 20 for detecting the rotation of theplaten gear 22 arranged at an end of theplaten roller 11 can be driven. For example, theopen jam sensor 20 may be arranged at the side of the rotary printerupper cover 2 while thedrive gear 21 is arranged at the side of the printerlower cover 4 serving as the housing of the main body of the apparatus. Further, thedrive gear 21 may be arranged at the side of the rotary printerupper cover 2 while theplaten roller 11 and theopen jam sensor 20 are arranged at the side of the printerlower cover 4 serving as the housing of the main body of the apparatus. - Further, in the present embodiment, the
platen gear 22 having the passinghole 23 is arranged at an end of theplaten roller 11. However, theplaten gear 22 is not necessarily arranged at an end of theplaten roller 11, but may also be arranged at an end of a component, such as thefeed roller 8 or theidle roller 10, which has a function of conveying paper through rotation when the paper is conveyed. - Further, in the present embodiment, only one passing
hole 23 is arranged. When the printer is stopped, the position relation between the passinghole 23 and thedetection position 28 is unclear, thus, the rotation of one whole cycle is needed to detect whether or not the cover is opened. When the rotation of one cycle takes a long time, and correspondingly, a long time is taken to determine whether or not the cover is opened. To prevent this situation, it is preferred to arrange a plurality of passing holes 23. When two holes are arranged at the same intervals, the rotation of at most a half cycle is needed to determine whether or not the cover is opened, similarly, when four passingholes 23 are arranged, the rotation of at most a quarter of a cycle is needed to determine whether or not the cover is opened, which shortens the time taken to determine whether or not the cover is opened. Further, in stationary rotation, as the time interval at which thelight receiving section 26 sends a light receiving signal can be mastered in advance even if a plurality of passingholes 23 are arranged, no bad influence is caused to the detection of paper jam. - While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the invention.
Claims (5)
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US14/159,621 US9156284B2 (en) | 2014-01-21 | 2014-01-21 | Printer apparatus |
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US14/159,621 US9156284B2 (en) | 2014-01-21 | 2014-01-21 | Printer apparatus |
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US20150202895A1 true US20150202895A1 (en) | 2015-07-23 |
US9156284B2 US9156284B2 (en) | 2015-10-13 |
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US20170182811A1 (en) * | 2015-12-25 | 2017-06-29 | Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha | Printer |
US20180250965A1 (en) * | 2017-03-01 | 2018-09-06 | Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha | Printer |
CN109318601A (en) * | 2017-07-31 | 2019-02-12 | 精工电子有限公司 | Print unit and thermal printer |
EP3435342A4 (en) * | 2016-03-25 | 2019-11-13 | PosBank Co., Ltd | Paper jam sensing and recovery method for receipt printer |
JP2020121536A (en) * | 2019-01-31 | 2020-08-13 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Layer transfer device |
US11400699B2 (en) * | 2019-01-30 | 2022-08-02 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Layer transferring device including heat roller provided in main casing and movable relative to pressure roller provided at cover |
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US7417657B2 (en) * | 2004-07-19 | 2008-08-26 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Thermal printer and printing method |
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Cited By (13)
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US9914314B2 (en) * | 2015-12-25 | 2018-03-13 | Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha | Printer |
US20170182811A1 (en) * | 2015-12-25 | 2017-06-29 | Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha | Printer |
JP2017114078A (en) * | 2015-12-25 | 2017-06-29 | 東芝テック株式会社 | Printer |
CN107009762A (en) * | 2015-12-25 | 2017-08-04 | 东芝泰格有限公司 | Printer |
US10569582B2 (en) | 2016-03-25 | 2020-02-25 | Posbank Co., Ltd | Paper jam sensing and recovery method for receipt printer |
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CN106427245A (en) * | 2016-08-30 | 2017-02-22 | 恒银金融科技股份有限公司 | Paper conveying apparatus used for output of printing paper in financial self-service equipment |
US20180250965A1 (en) * | 2017-03-01 | 2018-09-06 | Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha | Printer |
US10343431B2 (en) * | 2017-03-01 | 2019-07-09 | Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha | Printer |
CN109318601A (en) * | 2017-07-31 | 2019-02-12 | 精工电子有限公司 | Print unit and thermal printer |
US11400699B2 (en) * | 2019-01-30 | 2022-08-02 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Layer transferring device including heat roller provided in main casing and movable relative to pressure roller provided at cover |
JP2020121536A (en) * | 2019-01-31 | 2020-08-13 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Layer transfer device |
JP7205260B2 (en) | 2019-01-31 | 2023-01-17 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Layer transfer device |
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